Location-based services are information services that are accessible by or are, at least, enabled by mobile devices. These services are capable of utilizing the geographical position of one or more mobile devices—that is, the “geo-location” of each device. Location-based services include services for identifying a location-relevant person, asset or resource, or other object, and include determining the nearest automated teller machine or the whereabouts of a friend.
Initially, location-based services (LBS) were offered mainly by cellular telephony service providers to their subscribers. The cell phones themselves had much of the LBS functionality embedded. Over time, however, more and more of the LBS functionality was off-loaded into application servers present in the service providers' network infrastructure.
Location-based services are not only applicable to cellular networks. Indeed, enterprises such as businesses, schools, hospitals, and so forth can use these services to enhance the customer experience and improve workforce operational efficiency. The function of location integration in enterprise communications includes the use of both real-time and historical location information of mobile users in telecommunications services. The potential participants include an organization's customers, employees, vendors, and partners.
There are a number of possible benefits to an enterprise's operations if location information can be incorporated into the communications context. Additionally, the organization can provide better service to its customers if location can be automatically incorporated into a customer's service context. In general, beneficial enterprise applications that can use location-based services are both diverse and many.